The Didache

The Rudder

The 85 Canons of the Holy and Altogether August Apostles, plus the Canons of the First through Fourth Ecumenical Councils (see links further down this page) constitute what is known as "The Rudder."

The Ecumenical Councils

The First Ecumenical Council

The First Council of Nice A.D. 325, called by Emperor Constantine, Pope Silvester. The council met to deal with the schism created by Arianism. The Arians wished to avoid the heresy of Sabellius who believed in a divine monad which, by expansion, projected itself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit—a form of Modalism. The Arians separated the Son from God entirely so that they believed he was a creature having a beginning. "There was when he was not." The Son was but God's first creation, yet out of nothing and hence has preeminence over the rest of creation. The symbol answers the question, "Who is Jesus Christ"? Its answer: God.

The Canons of the Councils of Ancyra, Gangra Neocaesarea

The Canons of Antioch and Laodicea

These Canons were accepted and received by the Ecumenical Synods - The Provincial Synods

Council of Sardica

343 A.D. Canon V. Sardica was the first synod which asserted, in some sense, Roman primacy in the Church.

The Second Ecumenical Council

The First Council of Constantinople A.D. 381, Emperor Theodosius, Pope Damasus.

The Third Ecumenical Council

The Council of Ephesus A.D. 431, Emperors Theodosius II And Valentinian III, Pope Celestine I

The Fourth Ecumenical Council

The Council of Chalcedon A.D. 451, Emperors Marcian and Pulcheria (in the East) and Valentinian III. (in the West), Pope Leo I.

The Fifth Ecumenical Council

The Second Council of Constantinople A.D. 553, Emperor Justinian I, Pope Vigilius

The Anathemas of the Second Council of Constantinople

553 A.D. Also known as the The Capitula of the Council.

The Sixth Ecumenical Council

The Third Council of Constantinople A.D. 680-681, Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, Pope Agatho I

The Canons of the Council in Trullo

Often Called the Quinisext Council, A.D. 692.

The Canons of the Synods of Sardica, Carthage, Constantinople, and Carthage

These canons were received by the council in Trullo and ratified by the Seventh Ecumenical Council.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council

The Second Council of Nice A.D. 787, Emperors Constantine VI And Irene, Pope Hadrian

Henry R. Percival, Ed. The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church: Their Canons and Dogmatic Decrees, Together with the Canons of All the Local Synods Which Have Received Ecumenical Acceptance. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1956.